Table 2.

Personal and household characteristics of participants (n = 51)

	N	%
Personal characteristics of participants
Age in years
21-30	3	5.9
31-40	16	31.4
41-50	22	43.1
51-60	10	19.6
Sex
Male	27	52.9
Female	24	47.1
Highest level of education
Elementary graduate or less	17	33.3
Secondary graduate or some secondary	19	37.3
Post-secondary graduate or some post-secondary	15	29.4
Main source of income
Salary/wages from employment	39	76.5
Social assistance or othera	12	23.5
Household characteristics of participants
Household food insecurityb
Food secure household	12	24.5
Moderately food insecure household	27	55.0
Severely food insecure household	10	20.5
Household type
Couple with children	31	60.8
Couple, no childrenc	11	21.6
Lone parentd	7	13.7
Othere	2	3.9
Children < 18 years living in household
None	13	25.5
1 or 2	25	49.0
3+	13	25.5
Number of familiesf living in household
1	27	52.9
2	24	47.1
Total number of people living in household
1-3	15	29.4
4-6	33	64.7
7+	3	5.9

^aRespondents could choose other sources of income, including worker’s compensation/employment insurance, pension/senior’s benefits or any other source (e.g., alimony, child tax benefits, etc.), however all respondents without a main income source from salary/wages chose social assistance.

^bBased on participant responses to the Household Food Security Survey Module (HFSSM). The n = 49 as two individuals chose not to respond to the HFSSM questionnaire.

^cIncludes couples living alone or those with children > 18 years.

^dIncludes lone parents living with at least one child < 18 years.

^eIncludes unattached individuals not living with any children < 18 years.

^fA “family” was defined according to the Statistics Canada definition for Census Family [46] (Statistics Canada, 2012).